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Mark 12:13–17

Question of Taxes

Matt. 22:15–22; Luke 20:20–26

13 fThen they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. 14 When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and 4care about no one; for You do not 5regard the person of men, but teach the gway of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?”

But He, knowing their hhypocrisy, said to them, Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” 16 So they brought it.

And He said to them, Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

17 And Jesus answered and said to them, 6Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to iGod the things that are God’s.”

And they marveled at Him.

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Mark 12:13–17 — The New International Version (NIV)

13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

17 Then Jesus said to them, Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

And they were amazed at him.

Mark 12:13–17 — English Standard Version (ESV)

13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.

Mark 12:13–17 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

13 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. 14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. 16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s. 17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him.

Mark 12:13–17 — New Living Translation (NLT)

13 Later the leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested. 14 “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?”

Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin, and I’ll tell you.” 16 When they handed it to him, he asked, Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

17 Well, then,” Jesus said, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

His reply completely amazed them.

Mark 12:13–17 — New Century Version (NCV)

13 Later, the Jewish leaders sent some Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to trap him in saying something wrong. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man. You are not afraid of what other people think about you, because you pay no attention to who they are. And you teach the truth about God’s way. Tell us: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay them, or not?”

But knowing what these men were really trying to do, Jesus said to them, Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a coin to look at.” 16 They gave Jesus a coin, and he asked, Whose image and name are on the coin?”

They answered, “Caesar’s.”

17 Then Jesus said to them, Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.” The men were amazed at what Jesus said.

Mark 12:13–17 — American Standard Version (ASV)

13 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they might catch him in talk. 14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Teacher, we know that thou art true, and carest not for any one; for thou regardest not the person of men, but of a truth teachest the way of God: Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why make ye trial of me? bring me a denarius, that I may see it. 16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s. 17 And Jesus said unto them, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled greatly at him.

Mark 12:13–17 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

13 And they send to him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they might catch him in speaking. 14 And they come and say to him, Teacher, we know that thou art true, and carest not for any one; for thou regardest not men’s person, but teachest the way of God with truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not? 15 Should we give, or should we not give? But he knowing their hypocrisy said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Bring me a denarius that I may see it. 16 And they brought it. And he says to them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said to him, Caesar’s. 17 And Jesus answering said to them, Pay what is Caesar’s to Caesar, and what is God’s to God. And they wondered at him.

Mark 12:13–17 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

13 The leaders sent some of the Pharisees and some of Herod’s followers to Jesus. They wanted to trap him into saying the wrong thing. 14 When they came to him, they said, “Teacher, we know that you tell the truth. You don’t favor individuals because of who they are. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it right to pay taxes to the emperor or not? Should we pay taxes or not?” 

15 Jesus recognized their hypocrisy, so he asked them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a coin so that I can look at it.” 

16 They brought a coin. He said to them, “Whose face and name is this?” 

They told him, “The emperor’s.” 

17 Jesus said to them, “Give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and give God what belongs to God.” 

They were surprised at his reply. 

Mark 12:13–17 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Him to trap Him by what He said. 14 When they came, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know You are truthful and defer to no one, for You don’t show partiality but teach truthfully the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay, or should we not pay?”

But knowing their hypocrisy, He said to them, Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” 16 So they brought one. Whose image and inscription is this?” He asked them.

“Caesar’s,” they said.

17 Then Jesus told them, Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.

Mark 12:13–17 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

13 Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? 15 Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.” 16 And they brought one. Then he said to them, Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.

Mark 12:13–17 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

13 And they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him so that they could catch him unawares in a statement. 14 And when they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and you do not care what anyone thinks, because you do not regard the opinion of people but teach the way of God in truth. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?” 15 But because he knew their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius so that I can look at it!” 16 So they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!” And they were utterly amazed at him.

Mark 12:13–17 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

13 Later the religious leaders sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus. They wanted to trap him with his own words.

14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know you are a man of honor. You don’t let others tell you what to do or say. You don’t care how important they are. But you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew what they were trying to do. So he asked, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a silver coin. Let me look at it.”

16 They brought the coin.

He asked them, “Whose picture is this? And whose words?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And give to God what belongs to God.”

They were amazed at him.

Mark 12:13–17 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement.

14 They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?

15 “Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.”

16 They brought one. And He said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

17 And Jesus said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.


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